Solid contact and a few breaks put the B-Mets over the Fisher Cats 4-3
Yeah, it was that kind of night for Wilfredo Tovar
Some games are blowouts, some games are pitchers’ duels, and some games are tight back-and-forth affairs between two tough teams. This was not one of those games. With a chilly breeze blowing on fleece blanket night and Air National Guard KC-135 tankers flying overhead on their way into Manchester Boston Regional Airport, the action on the field was less than stellar. Deep fly balls that only Matt den Dekker would have gotten to, baserunning blunders, and fielding faux pas were the order of the day for both teams, but the Mets prevailed with more of everything, good and bad.
Starting pitcher Tyler Pill signed autographs before the game as the 2013 B-Mets made themselves much more available for autos than the 2012 crew ever did. Cory Mazzoni was among the notable pregame signers, though he didn’t have any injury updates (clearly the arm is still attached and functional though). After a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, the game was underway with a quick and uneventful first inning.
Pill vs. Pillar, Round One: Pill by a mile. Well, a good foot and a half at least.
Call Me Maybe made its debut as Cory Vaughn came to bat in the second and got the first hit of the night. A strikeout, double, and walk loaded the bases for Wilfredo Tovar, who grounded into a force out at second to end the inning.
The Fisher Cats went down in order again in the second inning, but Ricardo Nanita opened the bottom of the third with a deep fly ball that Alonzo Harris got a glove on but couldn’t get under control, sending Nanita to second. Nanita advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a single, putting New Hampshire on the board. Kenny Wilson then dropped a bunt down the third base line that Josh Rodriguez chased down, except his foot got to the ball before his glove. Rodriguez then chased the ball behind the plate in a scene that was so comical that I forgot to take a picture. That put runners at second and third for Kevin Pillar, who singled in another run. A walk loaded the bases, but Pill worked a pair of strikeouts to limit the damage to two runs.
Binghamton answered back in the 4th with Cesar Puello one-upping Nanita with a triple to center and scoring on a Daniel Muno single. That would be all for the Mets, now trailing 2-1.
Ricardo Nanita would not be outdone, hitting a solo home run to extend New Hampshire’s lead to 3-1. Tyler Pill settled in from that point on, only allowing a single before exiting the game after the 6th inning.
The Mets on the other hand were just getting started. Darrell Ceciliani singled in the 5th, advanced to second on a single, and stole third to get within 90 feet of making it a one-run game. Actually, he got a bit closer than that, too close to get back to third in time after Rhyne Hughes lined one straight back to the pitcher and into a double play to end the Mets’ rally.
The 6th started off with Kenny Wilson chasing another deep fly ball that dropped in on the warning track giving Cory Vaughn a double. Cesar Puello missed his chance to top Nanita’s solo home run when he was pinch hit for by Allan Dykstra, who took a pitch to the ankle to join Vaughn on the basepaths. Francisco Pena advanced the runners on a sac bunt and, after a pitching change, Daniel Muno doubled in two runs to even the score at three.
Muno advanced to third on a groundout by Tovar and then Alonzo Harris made Kenny Wilson run the other way on a shallow fly ball that made it past the tumbling New Hampshire center fielder. Muno scored and Harris had Binghamton’s third double of the inning, giving the Mets a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish.
Hughes may have been out, but he refused to vacate third base until the field was empty, for whatever that’s worth
Pill wrapped up his night with three quick outs in the bottom of the 6th. Rhyne Hughes continued the doubles parade in the top of the 7th but misjudged a Vaughn fly ball and was tagged out at third to end the Mets’ offense for the night. Call Me Maybe did not turn out to be lucky for Cory Vaughn the second time around.
Will someone get these guys a bullpen phone?
John Church and Chase Hutchingson each pitched a scoreless inning for the Mets and Jeff Walters was called in for the save as the Harlem Shake took over the stadium. New Hampshire had a chance to start something with one out in the bottom of the 9th when Ricardo Nanita (of course) dropped a shallow pop fly just inside the line in left for a single.
Nobody’s got it. Well, except for Daniel Muno when you try for second.
Unfortunately for Nanita, he thought he had a double and did not count on Wilfredo Tovar making the throw to second in time. Tovar sent the next ball hit his way over to first base for the final out and the B-Mets won their first game in New Hampshire this year 4-3.
The official scorer was being generous, it sure looked like a lot more than one error out there…
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